I agree with Jillian and Frackle, whose name escapes me at the moment. I'm eating, so I'm really thinking more about my hotpocket right now than this debate. lol
But that doesn't affect my opinion. This feels very bully-ish to me and I think if given the chance Bloomberg would totally be a controlling dictator. Why is he trying so hard to micromanage New Yorkers' diets?
New mothers need encouragement, not to be hassled. Make getting the formula a little less convenient. Give moms the speech on how it's better, and help them see that it's not as scary/difficult as they might be imagining it to be. But for God's sake, if they know the benefits of BFing and are still choosing FFing, give them the dang formula without making them feel like crap. And why make it a hassle on the nurses who have to go unlock it and document every single bit of it. Trust me, nurses have plenty of other things to keep under lock and key, and to write in their charts. Nursing is already demanding enough!
Push harder to educate and encourage, but be willing to recognize that once a mother's mind is made up, that's the end of it. Just give her the freaking formula.
I guess that sounds strange coming from me considering how annoyed I get to see how heavily formula is advertised in the maternity wards. I'm all for taking out the free samples, and the silly little gifts with the Similac logo that not-so-subtly nudge women in the direction of formula. But also, respect the mother's final decision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyHippy

Many hospitals give out free formula to mothers, regardless of their feeding choices. The hospital I had ds1 in gave me 4 cans of formula when I left, 2 Enfamil and 2 Similac. They also gave me about $50 worth in coupons for formula. This is actually a common practice in many hospitals around the world. Because of hospitals doing this there have been movements to change it. To "ban the bags", which are called breastfeeding bags but are filled with formula samples, formula coupons, and maybe 1 disposable breast pad. There are also movements in the US to replace the formula sample bags with BFing friendly bags.

The Baby Friendly Initiative does not try to *not* have formula at the hospitals, they just want hospitals to not endorse certain brands of formula and give out cans of it for free to every mom who has a baby. They want support for BFing and also want formula to still be available for those who need/want it, but not to give it out to everyone.

There has been research that says that BFing is undermined when hospitals give out free samples of formula for everyone, and that it drops BFing rates. Which is why many hospitals around the world do not partake in the giving out of free formula, they have higher rates of BFing from the beginning and at 6 months.

The way you've described that sounds really really great and I would support it completely. I think that's the way it should be.

What I'm against is the government coming up with a LAW requiring formula to be kept under lock and key and to have to justify each and every bottle with a medical excuse, and every single bottle given to a mother is accompanied by a lecture. Not cool.